Legless veteran stuck without hospital bed

Paublo Galaviz spends most of his days in bed or sitting in a chair in his cramped bedroom. There isn't much else for him to do.

Galaviz thinks exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War cost him his legs and eventually will take his vision.

Now, the 61-year-old veteran is fighting the federal Department of Veterans Affairs to get a hospital bed to use at his sister's home.

His sister, Marie E. Alainz, 62, said VA officials told her Galaviz does not meet the criteria for receiving a hospital bed.

"Everyone gets what they need," said Alainz, who cares for her brother in her Freeland home. "Why not my brother? All we're asking for is a bed."

Saginaw VA Public Affairs Officer Carri Seward said a veteran "must be bed-bound 90 percent of their waking hours" to qualify for a bed.

Alainz said her brother fits that description because he spends the majority of his time in bed as a result of poorly fitted prostheses.

"What do they think he's doing?" she asked. "He's not out walking or shopping. He has no life."
Doctors amputated both of Galaviz's legs in late 2005.
Complications from diabetes led to the amputation. His sister believes he developed the chronic disease as a result of his exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam, where he served from 1969 to 1971 in the U.S. Army.
Galaviz, who was living in Texas in 2005, obtained a hospital bed from the VA after the amputation, his sister said.
Alainz questions the criteria that her brother supposedly no longer meets.
"What's changed?" she said. "Nothing's growing back, so what's different now?"
Seward said evaluations since the amputation show Galaviz is mobile enough to not meet the government's requirements for a free bed.
Abdul Majeed, owner of Abbott Health Services Inc., 3630 Shattuck in Saginaw Township, said most hospital beds cost about $600.
Galaviz displayed an ability to move during a complete evaluation in December 2006, Seward said.
But Alainz said her brother is unable to use his prosthetics for long periods because they cause pain.
He instead uses a wheelchair -- which Alainz said took a year to acquire from the VA.
The brother and sister said the agency is slow to respond to most of their requests.
"If you turn this around and we were telling the government to wait, we'd be in jail," Galaviz said.
Economic factors make it difficult to waive the organization's criteria, Seward said.
"There's not a never-ending flow of money for these things," she said.
The Lutz Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 1500 Weiss in Saginaw, and three clinics in Oscoda, Traverse City and Gaylord serve nearly 30,000 patients, Seward said.

"What do they think he's doing?" she asked. "He's not out walking or shopping. He has no life."

Doctors amputated both of Galaviz's legs in late 2005.

Complications from diabetes led to the amputation. His sister believes he developed the chronic disease as a result of his exposure to the defoliant Agent Orange in Vietnam, where he served from 1969 to 1971 in the U.S. Army.

Galaviz, who was living in Texas in 2005, obtained a hospital bed from the VA after the amputation, his sister said.

Alainz questions the criteria that her brother supposedly no longer meets.
"What's changed?" she said. "Nothing's growing back, so what's different now?"
Seward said evaluations since the amputation show Galaviz is mobile enough to not meet the government's requirements for a free bed.

Galaviz displayed an ability to move during a complete evaluation in December 2006, Seward said.

But Alainz said her brother is unable to use his prosthetics for long periods because they cause pain.

He instead uses a wheelchair -- which Alainz said took a year to acquire from the VA.
The brother and sister said the agency is slow to respond to most of their requests.
"If you turn this around and we were telling the government to wait, we'd be in jail," Galaviz said.

Economic factors make it difficult to waive the organization's criteria, Seward said.
"There's not a never-ending flow of money for these things," she said.